


Nor Tomorrow

by lha



Series: Timings [2]
Category: Star Trek: Discovery
Genre: Angst, Coping, F/M, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Recovery, Shock, Sick Character, Sickfic, Support, treatment
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-16
Updated: 2018-03-20
Packaged: 2019-04-01 04:09:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,426
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13990188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lha/pseuds/lha
Summary: “And I love you too, it’s going to be a while before you bounce back from this one though.”Gabriel's road to recovery.(Follows on from Not Today)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for my attendant Twitterati, for inspiring the original, this sequel and the thirty two other fics I'm sure they'll spawn ;)  
> You should come and join us - find me at @LHA_again

“Gabe?” Katrina called, pausing in the hallway after she closed the front door. There was no reply which wasn’t entirely surprising, he’d often worn himself out by late afternoon and she’d find him fast asleep on the sofa when she got in from work. Unfastening her uniform jacket she stuck her head around the door but there was no sign of him on the settee. He’d been in his study that morning but he’d promised, and more importantly his staff were under strict instructions, that he had would do no more than a few hours work a day (this arrangement not only stopped him from going entirely stir crazy but also proved to remind him that he wasn’t fit for any more). When she entered their bedroom and found him asleep on top of the covers though, her instincts started tingling.

He was facing away from the door so she rounded the bed and her heart fell at the sight of him, face flushed and creased in pain. Perching on the edge of the mattress she reached a hand out to his forehead and closed her eyes for a moment when she felt the heat radiating off him. Gabe shifted beneath her touch.

“Evening,” he said, looking up at her with the most miserable smile she’d ever seen.

“Oh love,” she said, caressing the side of his head her thumb running over the shell of his ear, “I thought it had worked this time.” 

“Me too,” he agreed, biting down as he shifted his hips, “but here we go again, round six.” It was round seven really but there was nothing to be gained by pointing that out. Every time in the last two months that they’d thought the parasite had been cleared from his system, they’d regrown his stomach lining, only for the bloody thing to rear it’s head again.

“Have you let them know?” 

“I.. yeah. Because this… because it’s been longer… we’ll have to wait this out before they can do anything else.”

“Have you taken…” she stopped when he nodded, another wave of pain rocking him. 

“ ‘ time is it?” he asked, panting.

“About 19:00,” she said, her guilt rearing that she’d stayed at the office so late. She’d been granted leave to stay earthbound and she’d been working from home as much as she could but she’d wanted to finish what she was working on tonight.

“Mmmm, ‘nother hour and a half before the next dose then.” She recognised his abortive attempt to sit up. 

“Bathroom?” she asked, helping him up when he nodded jerkily. It was a routine she wished they weren’t so familiar with.

It hurt her, to see him so frail. Despite her frustrations with her colleagues in Medical they’d been doing everything they could to keep Gabriel as well as possible while they struggled to treat him. It wasn’t easy though, this attempt had been the first to last long enough that his digestive tract had returned to a state where it could process even simple foods. He’d had mashed potatoes yesterday and Katrina didn’t think she’d ever seen anyone enjoy something so much. It was hard though, there was only so much that artificial nutrition injections could do and he’d lost more weight and muscle mass in the last two months than any of them would have liked. 

“You’re ringing,” she said gently, as she helped him back to the bed, “let’s get you wiped down and into some fresh jamas.”

“Are you hitting on me?” he asked with a quiet chuckle.

“Always,” she replied, kissing the crown of his head. “I’ll be two minutes.”

Katrina took a moment as she filled a basin with lukewarm water and fetched cloths and towels. It wasn’t just their own optimism, everyone had thought that this time it had worked. Even after they’d thought the parasites were gone, they’d waited and treated prophylactically for another few days before having Gabriel lie in the treatment chamber for the hours it took to stimulate the epithelials to regrow. Previously the longest they’d made it before it had become clear that it hadn’t worked had been 36 hours. It had been almost six days this time and he’d even been getting some colour back, but this was going to be grim. She knew that they were running out of things to try, running out of options and she didn’t know how much more often she could watch Gabe go through this. 

“Right,”she said, returning back to their bedroom, “let’s get you out of these damp clothes.” Katrina helped him sit up and he rested exhausted against her, head over her shoulder as she peeled off his t-shirt. He was like a rag doll but as she ran the damp cloth over the back of his shoulders and along the arms he hummed in satisfaction, making her smile. 

“Thank you,” he murmured into her neck.

“You’re welcome, love,” she replied as she worked her way down his back. Katrina felt him tense, his stomach muscles cramping as she gently ran the cloth around his side. “Do you need to go,” she asked, but he shook his head gasping in pain.

“... not this time,” he panted, resting his forehead on her shoulder and pulling his knees up to his chest. 

“Gabe, maybe we need to go in. I know you hate it, but they might be able to make you more comfortable.” 

“No. It’s not long before I can have another dose, it’ll be fine. Please,” he added desperately.

“Ok, love, ok,” she said cradling him closer, her fingers winding in his hair. He hated it so much that she’d do anything she could to keep him from being admitted again, but there was a point at which it wouldn’t make sense, “not just yet. But I reserve the right to change my mind.”

“Psychiatrist’s prerogative,” he said and she could feel him smile into her shoulder.

“You know it Lorca,” she replied, holding him close.

By the time she’d finished wiping him down and gotten him into his cotton pyjama bottoms, he’d been almost dead to the world. Hoping that he’d be able to snatch some rest, Katrina checked the time, made a medical judgment that she was giving him his next dose early and having done so, snuck out of the room. Having sent a message to Gabriel’s primary physician, she went to the kitchen to sort something out for herself. In the end, she stood at the kitchen counter eating cereal. Every time she ate at the moment she felt guilty, Gabriel would never say it but it seemed that she was rubbing it in his face when he was barely managing to stay hydrated by constantly sipping water. Not drink, certainly not gulp, just barely sip. She’d taken to eating her main meals when she was out of the house just so she didn’t have to make him watch, or feel like she was hiding from him. Half the bowl had gone sodden by the time she snapped herself out of her own thoughts. 

She was sitting up on her side of the bed, reading reports her hand gently resting in Gabriel’s hair, when she felt him stiffen. He threw back the blanket she’d draped over him, managed to get himself upright and made it to the bathroom under his own steam, so she allowed him at least the illusion of some privacy. The fact that he hadn’t closed the door was unlike him, but urgency had quite clearly been at play from what she could hear. Katrina attempted to distract herself; she changed the sheets, fetched him some fresh water and tried not to just hover until five, ten minutes later, he called quietly, 

“‘Trina,” he said hesitantly, “I’m… I’m bleeding…” This wasn’t the first time it had happened and it was inevitable to some extent given the trauma his body was being subjected to.

“How badly?” she asked as she crossed the bedroom, reaching the door just in time to see Gabe slide from the toilet onto the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

“Katrina?” Hugh said spotting her and in two strides he closed the distance between them and wrapped her in his firm embrace. “How is he?” 

“He…” she said, adamantly trying to keep it together. “The phrase catastrophic bleed has been used more than once.”

“I swear,” he said, pulling back, “half of this lot haven’t seen an actual patient never mind a relative in too long.” 

“I’m made of sterner stuff than most,” she replied. 

“He’s still your husband though,” Hugh said, “no one should expect you to maintain your professional composure. Come on, sit down.” 

“I just…” Katrina said, before the tears overtook her and she buried her face in her hands. “It’s just a stupid bloody parasite!” she sobbed. 

“I know,” he said, his hand rubbing her back, “I know.”

She let herself cry and be comforted because she really didn’t know what else to do. Paul arrived at some point and took over holding her while Hugh went on a mission to go and find out what was going on. 

“Katrina?” he said, sitting back down next to them. “He’s ok, they’ve managed to stop the bleeding.” 

“That’s good, right?” said Paul.

“Yes, and they’ve repaired the damage but it was severe. There’s only so long that they can keep this up, that Gabriel can keep this up.” 

“What’s their current bright idea?” Katrina asked, drying her face with the handkerchief Paul had produced from somewhere. There was an awkward pause before Hugh spoke.

“They’re talking about artificial replacement, but I’m not convinced,” Hugh said frankly. 

“Neither was anyone else I’ve run it past,” said Katrina with a sigh. There were some organs that could be replaced with synthetic equivalents with minimal fuss these days, but this was more complicated not least of all because they couldn’t be sure that the parasites wouldn’t just attack the artificial linings the same way they had Gabriel’s organic ones. “I… I’m going to see him,” she said, standing up and running her hand over the front of her stained top. 

“Just,” Hugh said slightly awkwardly, glancing at Paul, “before you do, I… we had a thought.”

“It’s just a thought,” said Paul, “but there was someone who they brought in to consult on me back when they gave me the full work up. He’s… he’s not your average doctor.”

“Doctor Phlox isn’t a member of Starfleet but he’s the most widely experienced physician I’ve ever met,” Hugh said.

“Phlox? As in, served on the Enterprise, Phlox the Denobulan?” she asked.

“That’s the one,” he said. 

“He must be…”

“He’s not young,” Hugh agreed, “but Denobulans have a longer lifespan than us. He’s pretty spry for a hundred and sixty.”

“And you think…”

“He’s on earth, I’m sure that he’ll be happy to take a look at Gabriel’s file.”

“Why not,” she said with a sigh, “Gabe’s going to be a case study at this point anyway. I’m just…” she gestured towards the door into the room they’d settled him into. 

Katrina hoped that she never saw anyone she cared about looking as awful as Gabriel did when she entered that room. His gaunt features were positively sunken, his skin so pale that he made the sheets look unclean. The readouts looked better though, his heart would have been struggling after his blood volume had dropped so dramatically but it seemed to be holding up. There were several lines running in with blood and fluids and while she could see when she pulled back the sheets that they had him lying on several absorbent mats they were all clean and dry. Her professional side as far at ease as it would get, she sat down next to the bed to hold his hand and wait. 

She must have fallen asleep, because she sat up with a start when someone entered the room.

“Hey,” Paul said, his voice hushed, “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“No,” she said, glancing up at the readings on the wall, “it’s fine I shouldn’t have been…”

“You’ve been here for hours Katrina,” he said gently. “Now, Hugh’s just picking up Phlox from the transport, he was determined to come and see the patient for himself, and I thought you might like a change of clothes.” She looked down at herself, suddenly aware of the fact that her clothes were still stained with blood. 

“I must look frightful,” she said, brushing at the dried red marks she’d almost forgotten.

“And you can’t be comfortable. Now there’s a fresh uniform in here and there’s a bathroom at the end of the corridor you can use.” 

“Damn, the bathroom…” she said, swallowing thickly at the thought of the state it must still be in. 

“All under control,” Paul said, “don’t worry about it. Really. Now, I’ll stay here, and you go clean up,” he continued as he shooed her out the door.

The act of peeling off her trousers and top stiff with blood, Gabriel’s blood, set her off again and Katrina couldn’t seem to stop crying. This was ridiculous. She had a professional mask, she’d been in command during battle, she knew how to suppress emotion with the best of them but just now she just couldn’t stop the tears. By the time that she cleaned the blood still caked beneath her fingernails and in the tips of her hair, she had just about pulled herself together but even back in uniform she felt shaken and vulnerable. Straightening her shoulders she opened the door and walked back down the corridor. 

As soon as the door opened, she looked at the bed and then straight up to the readouts on the wall behind him, more than aware of how much could change even in such a short time. He seemed stable, but all of this meant that it took a moment before she even registered that there were more people standing around Gabriel’s bed.

“Katrina, can I introduce Dr Phlox,” Hugh said with a gesture.

“Ah, Admiral,” the Denobulan said with a smile that just kept going till the point that Katrina felt like she couldn’t take her eyes off it. “A pleasure to meet you despite the circumstances.”   
“Yes, Doctor,” she managed, taking his hand, “thank you for agreeing to consult.”

“My pleasure, I can’t promise that I’ll be able to offer any insight but I’m happy to take a look. It seems quite fortuitous that I was on earth visiting friends, even if I don’t have my menagerie with me.”

“Menagerie?” Katrina asked, suddenly wondering what on earth they had let themselves in for.

“A different approach Katrina, that’s all,” Hugh said calmly.

“Why don’t we get some breakfast?” Paul suggested. 

“No,” she said, “No… I uh… I need to stay…” she was gripping the end of the bed now. 

“Ok, well I’m going to get you something. You need to eat,” he continued, obviously seeing her nausea written on her face. She nodded tersely, letting him leave while she moved back to sit next to the bed. Hugh and Phlox were talking, she knew she should be listening but she couldn’t bring herself to focus on anything except Gabriel’s face and the sound of her shallow breathing. The odd word filtered through; _Katarian, contemporary, unsuitable, traditional, source _and while she couldn’t follow she began to recognise the enthusiasm in their discourse.__

__“Katrina?” Paul asked, sitting next to her, putting a hand on her knee. “Here,” he handed her a small container of porridge and suddenly the smell of apple and cinnamon woke her taste-buds and set her salivating. Taking the bowl, she looked around and noticed abruptly they were alone._ _

__“Where…” she asked, the spoon stalled halfway up to her mouth._ _

__“Oh, they’ve run off to do some tests and see if they can source something,” Paul said. “I’d complain but last time round it was Phlox and me. The Medical staff were quite cross that he was more interested in discussing my work on the mycelium network than treating me like a specimen._ _

__“He’s good Katrina,” he continued, “and he comes at things from a different angle to the rest of the medics round here. Besides, Hugh would never let him try something he didn’t think was safe.” Katrina met Paul’s eye for a moment before nodding. Paul stood and straightened out the sheets but it didn’t escape her notice that he lifted them to check the mats first, just as she would have done._ _

__When the pair had returned, it was with a suggestion so ludicrous that Katrina had struggled not to laugh in their faces._ _

__“You want to fumigate my husband?”_ _

__“We want to use a traditional Katarian remedy for this particular parasitic infection,” said Phlox calmly._ _

__“But they looked at that weeks ago, it’s not…” she faulterred, “the Katarian treatment would be fatal and they didn’t manage to alter it.”_ _

__“That was the current treatment that is used today,” Hugh said patiently, “Phlox is suggesting that we go back to the herb that it’s based on.”_ _

__“It is quite ingenious,” the Denobulan said cheerily, “they used to inhale the smoke from something similar to what I believe is referred to as a cigarette.”_ _

__“And you think that this original treatment wouldn’t harm him?”_ _

__“Minor irritation to the bronchial passages,” Phlox said with a dismissive wave._ _

__“We’d need to source some of this herb, it’s common on Kataria but w e can’t see any indication of there being any live specimens on earth.”_ _

__“If this is what it needs to be,” Katrina said, “I’m sure I can get a ship there. How much are we talking about and for how long?”_ _

__Gabriel woke up later that day, blinked at Katrina, tried to smile and then fell back asleep. The first three days were bearable for everyone else because he slept so much. The next two had Katrina excusing herself periodically to go into the office or she would have been filling for divorce. He wanted home desperately but even when they’d replaced his blood volume and gotten his pain under control, he was weak as a kitten and there was just too big a risk that there would be further bleeding._ _

__“You should go home,” he said sleepily, rolling his head rolling towards where she was sitting next to the bed._ _

__“In a bit,” she said, looking up from the PADD she’d been studying, “can I get you anything?”_ _

__“Kiss?” he asked, raising an eyebrow and offering her an attempt at his boyish smile._ _

__“Always,” she said, standing and placing her lips on his forehead._ _

__“Hey,” he protested until she kissed him properly._ _

__“Your lips are dry, do you want some balm?”_ _

__“Mmmm please,” he said, his eyes drifting shut again._ _

__“Water first then,” she said, raising the head of the bed. It was more about stopping his mouth drying out than anything else at this stage, but he wet his lips a few times before he pushed the glass away. As she was gently smearing the salve over the cracked skin, a notification sounded from her PADD._ _

__“My command to the 2nd Scientific Fleet to come and break me out of here been approved?” he asked beneath her fingertips._ _

__“And you wonder why we confiscated your work PADDs,” she said reaching for her own. “Good news though,” she said flicking through the update, “the Faragott is due back in Sector 001 by the morning.”_ _

__“With my weeds?” he asked slightly skeptically._ _

__“With your weeds. A lot of your weeds,” she said, pulling through the details of the ship’s manifest._ _

__“Have they decided where they’re going to fumigate me yet?”_ _

__“Here I think,” she said, “so no big ideas about staging a great escape.”_ _

__“Never,” he said in mock protest, shifting and then freezing in obvious discomfort._ _

__“Sore?” she asked, lifting her hand to his forehead and glancing up at the readings to assuage the fear he was having another acute episode._ _

__“Burning a bit, not sharp...” He was panting though and he’d gone sheet white again._ _

__“That’s it, easy…” she said, as tried to breath through another wave of pain. She pressed the call button that would bring help, watching as his heart rate and blood pressure climbed._ _

__“Ugh,” he cried, curling forward and toppling towards her at the side of the bed, “sorry…” he mumbled shuddering against her shoulder as she held him._ _

__“Shh love, no apologies,” she whispered before looking up at the medical staff who had just arrived. “There’s been an accident but I don’t think he’s bleeding.”_ _

__It was all dealt with quickly and professionally, Gabriel’s pain medication was increased and by the time they were alone again, he was barely awake. He was however, quite clearly miserable which was harder for Katrina to watch than anything. This sort of thing was completely unavoidable in the circumstances and certainly outside of his control but of all the indignities he’d suffered through Gabriel seemed to struggle most with this. Toeing off her boots, Katrina altered the height of the chair so that she was closer to the same level as the head of bed and winding her hand through his hair, settled in for the night._ _


	3. Chapter 3

It was not a good night. Gabriel’s pain continued to escalate and at one point Katrina had an argument with a young doctor who was highly likely to be cashiered out of the fleet in the near future. The fact that her concerns, which were not being listened to, had been proven right when Gabriel had started vomiting up copious amounts of blood, was bitter vindication. The fact that they were already in a medical facility and that this rupture was both higher in the tract and more sluggish were the only things in their favour but it was thankfully enough. 

Another emergency procedure and several pints of blood products later and he was at least stable again, though Katrina wasn’t sure she’d ever believe it. She’d drifted back to allow them to work once someone she trusted further than she could through them had taken over, but she couldn’t bear to let Gabriel out of her sight. She stood in the corner, her arms crossed tightly over her top that was still wet with his blood and watched as they settled him and tidied up.

“Can I get you anything, Admiral? Can we call someone maybe?” asked one of the medics, coming to stand in front of her. 

“I… Uh, yes…” she managed eventually but still unable to look away from Gabe, “...could you contact Doctor Culber and update him. There may be an impact on the treatment that they were planning for tomorrow.”

“Of course Admiral, I’m going to get someone to bring you a fresh uniform and a cup of tea as well ok?” she nodded but didn’t move, couldn’t move. Her PADD went off but she couldn’t bring herself to go and check it. She knew this was wrong, knew that she was having an extreme reaction but that didn’t seem to help. The friendly faced medic reappeared and Katrina found herself being steered into the seat, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders before she was handed a warm mug.

“There you are,” she said, “Now we’ve spoken to Dr Culber and he’s coming in,” she continued. 

“Wha… What time is it?” Katrina asked as she tried to stop the liquid from sloshing outside the mug. 

“Just after 03:15, Admiral.” That was early, too early for them to be coming in, the Farragut hadn’t even reached orbit yet. That wasn’t why he was coming in though, she realised and while she felt horribly guilty that they’d gotten him out of bed she couldn’t deny the idea that friendly face was appealing. 

The first thing Hugh did was send everyone else out. Even in the woolen jumper and tweed slacks he had clearly pulled on as he ran out the door, he had enough authority, and a big enough reputation that no one questioned him. 

“Oh, you put the fear in them,” Hugh said as he read over Gabriel’s records, making her realise she’d obviously spoken out loud, “I’m just taking advantage.” He put the PADD down decisively and turned to look at her. “Oh, Katrina.”

“I’m ok, I just… I can’t get warm.” She shivered beneath the blanket. 

“You’re absolutely exhausted,” he said, helping her stand, removing the cup of cold tea from her hands and rubbing his hands up and down her arms. 

“I just… Hugh… what if this doesn’t work?” It was like saying the words out loud unstoppered something. “I mean, smoke?” she continued incredulously, her voice shaking.

“I know it seems like a long shot,” Hugh said, pulling her close, “and it is. But it’s worth trying Katrina and I think it might even work and they are still working in the labs.”

“I don’t know how long we have,” she said quietly turning back to the bed and reaching out to take Gabriel’s hand.

“He’s a fighter, “ Hugh said, “and if the first treatment goes as well as Phlox hopes, we might even be able to start the regeneration tomorrow.” Katrina nodded at this, but wondered where it was that Gabe would get the energy to go through the whole process again. She could count his ribs now, the rest of his organs were struggling even with the artificial support and apart from anything else and the idea of having to see him suffer through another acute episode was… 

“Kat?” Hugh’s voice cut through her thoughts again, “we’ll deal with what comes and we’ll do it together.” She couldn’t bring herself to even acknowledge what it was that he was saying. “In the meantime, we need to look after you too.”

“I’m fine,” she said quietly, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

“I think Gabriel would probably disagree with that,” Hugh said, “he’s stable and I promise I will watch him like a hawk. Have a shower, get changed and try to get some rest.”

“I’m not going home.”

“I didn’t think you would,” Hugh said calmly, “someone’s replicated you something to wear and it’s in the bathroom at the end of the hall. Just clean up.” He was breaking down the instructions she noted absently, giving her one thing to do, it was a good strategy when dealing with someone in shock. Katrina knew that she was a wreck and so she bit her lip and did what it was he was suggesting. 

Having found herself staring at the wall of the shower, water pouring unimpeded over her head, she managed to snap herself out of her internal subspace enough to finish washing. Instead of a uniform, there were warm comfortable clothes waiting for her outside the stall and she paused, considering what this meant. Her uniform was a shield, it was a connection to her role, her experience and authority but none of those things had done much good so far. There was a knock on the door that made her start, and she realised that she was still standing in nothing but a towel staring at the pile of clothes. 

“Katrina?” Paul called from outside, “are you ok?”

“Yes. Is he…?” she said, her heart leaping into her mouth from what felt like a standing start. 

“He’s fine, no change,” came the quick reply.

“What time is it?” she asked, taking a shuddering breath and hoping for her heart rate to slow. Paul hadn't been here when she’d left to take a shower.

“It’s just before 05:00.” She couldn't remember when Hugh had arrived, when she’d left Gabe, how long had she been standing there. The air was warm and she knew that she wasn't cold but she was still shivering.

“Katrina?” Paul asked again.

“I ah… I'll be a few minutes,” she said, reaching for the clean clothes.

“It’s ok, no rush,” Paul said, and then he continued to talk. Somehow, the calm voice on other side of the door helped her to focus and she started to dress. “The Farragut has arrived and the specimens are currently en route. Phlox is keen to start the first treatment as soon as possible so they're just taking some final readings and negotiating the details with the on-site staff. When they’re delivered I’m going to prep them…” 

Paul just kept talking and then once she was dressed and she’d pulled her hair back out of the way, she opened the door to find the scientist sitting with his back against the wall next to the door. 

“Hi,” she said, offering him a hand up. 

“Thanks,” he said accepting and using the leverage not just to stand but then to pull her close and hold her. “Rough night.” It wasn’t a question.

“I’ve had better,” she admitted with a broken laugh. 

“He’s still unconscious but Hugh seemed pleased with his readings when I left,” he continued as they headed back down the hall.

“... no, over there please,” Phlox was instructing a number of crewmen who were moving a variety of pieces of kit around. “Ah Admiral,” he said, offering a less unusual smile but what was an unmistakably professional gaze, “Commander Stamets,” he continued without looking away,”Doctor Culber has just take the plants along to the laboratory you’ve been allocated.”

“Great, I’ll go get started,” Paul said turning tail and heading back out of the room followed by the crewmen. 

There was another bed in the corner Katrina realised now that there were fewer people and she was at once horrified and drawn to it like a magnet. She looked away, turning instead to Gabriel and crossing the space so that she take hold of his hand and reassure herself that it was still warm.

“I’d suggest you get some sleep while we wait Admiral,” Phlox said amiably.

“I’ll just sit with him,” she said automatically.

“Well, it may have been some time since I was last involved with Starfleet personnel but I do retain my privileges at Medical and that means I currently outrank you Admiral.”

“I’ll not sleep,” she replied honestly. 

“Then at least lie down and rest your eyes. Please, Admiral,” he added and gestured to the cot.

“You’ll wake me up if anything happens, if he…” she tore her gaze away from the bed to look at the Denobulan.

“Naturally. It’ll be at least a few hours before Commander Stamets has correctly prepared the plants and we’re keeping Admiral Lorca sedated.” Katrina nodded, not sure she could formulate a coherent sentence. 

Leaning down she placed her lips on his forehead and left them there for an extended moment not sure whether she was trying to emplant her presence on his subconscious or memorise the feeling of his skin. Eventually she backed awas and sitting on the bed, slipped off her shoes and crawled beneath the covers only because she couldn’t shake the chill in her bones. She lay facing Gabriel, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest while Phlox continued to potter back and forth taking readings and playing with the settings on a contraption Katrina couldn’t place. He hummed as he worked and she found remarkably quickly that her eyes were so heavy that the effort to keep opening them after each blink was entirely beyond her. The last thing that she was aware of was the weight of the blanket the steady beep of Gabriel’s heart monitor and the syncopated blues riff being sung beneath the Denobulan’s breath.


	4. Chapter 4

“No love,” Katrina said for what felt like the hundredth time, “Gabe, please you need to leave it on.” He was mostly asleep still, the pain medication keeping him from fully waking but it had been a battle to get him to leave the mask on since the treatment had begun. “That’s it,” she said, capturing his hands and kissing his knuckles, “I know you don’t like it, but it’s making you better.” And it was, at least as far as they could tell. 

While their initial intention had been to use the traditional method of imbibing the smoke that the ancient Katarian’s had, rolling the dried herb in fine paper, lighting one end and inhaling through the other, with Gabriel’s deteriorating condition they had been forced to change their plans. The reverse pressure mask that was currently strapped to his face was forcing him to periodically breath in the smoke that was being created and captured by some device that Phlox had built out of things that were lying around. Gabriel didn’t like it.

As the cycle ended and the smoke mixture was replaced with normal if oxygen rich air, Gabriel settled back down. Katrina laid his hands down, tucking the sheets back around his arms in an attempt to forstal his next attempt to rip the device off his face. The door opened and she smile as Hugh came in, now in his crisp medical whites.

“Still not a fan?” he asked. 

“We haven’t had to get the restraints out so it could be worse,” she said, standing and stretching her back, “but no, not a fan.”  
“His readings are looking very promising, better than any other treatment regime that’s been tried,” Hugh said, checking his records and then the readouts on the machines. When it had agreed that this was worth trying, Hugh had agreed to be transferred temporarily away from his normal duties. “Parasitic activity is down to almost nothing already but Phlox thinks there’s a better way to monitor for the dormant parasites. He’s running some tests now.”

 

“It’s good of him to have gotten so involved.”

“I think he’s rather enjoying it, he says it’s been too long since he’s had a good medical mystery to solve.”

“I know that feeling,” Katrina said with a smile, “but I’d rather it wasn’t Gabriel providing the challenge next time.”

“I think we can probably all agree on that,” Hugh said with a gentle smile. There were a series of alerts from the PADD she’d left on the chair and Katrina tried to resist the urge to sigh. “Is that work?” Hugh asked.

“I suspect so. The negotiations I’ve been working on have encountered some challenges and the Temerite contingent are asking for me to personally attend a meeting.”

“Who’s dealing with it in your absence?”

“Captain Paris,” she said, “he’s good but he’s new in my office. I’m regretting letting Michael go now.”

“Can they second her back?” Hugh asked with a frown.

“Not really. They’ll be fine I’m sure,” she said, pulling up the messages and realising that really she was going to have to do something. “Will you be around for a while?” she asked.

“I can be, and Paul is planning on coming back over after his class.”

“You’re both being so good to us,” she said, wobbling but pulling it back.

“There’s nowhere else either of us would rather be,” Hugh said, a gentle hand on her arm. 

“I’m going to need to go and deal with this I think,” she said with a sigh as yet more messages pinged back and forth. “I don’t think even the Fleet Admiral would make these people happy at this point and we need this agreement.”

“Well I’ll make sure he’s not alone,” Hugh said, taking her place and gently restraining Gabriel as the next round of smoke began. “If Phlox can finalise a more accurate test for the dormant parasites and we get a clean result we’ll start the regenerative therapy then. Failing that it’ll be tomorrow morning, but we’ll contact you before we do anything drastic or if anything changes.”

Most days, Katrina loved her job and she was proud to be part of Starfleet. Today she arrived at her office in a whirlwind of fire and fury, determined that she would absolutely not have to come back before she was good and ready. While the ink on her promotion was only a few months old, and circumstances hadn’t lent themselves to her performing at her best since then, but she was good at her job and now that she’d had to leave Gabe’s side she would be damned if she didn’t make it worth while.

It was, she thought, the most productive three hours of negotiations and talks that she’d ever been party to. So engrossed was she in wrapping up the last of what she needed to do in the office that, when her aide showed in Gabe’s second in command she genuinely wondered why she was there. 

“I just… “ Shelby said, standing at formal parade rest in front of her desk. “How is Admiral Lorca, Ma’am?” Katrina watched the other woman for a moment. Gabriel’s team was as a general rule more militaristic than her own, their specialties in a strategy, tactics and weaponry. 

“He’s stable,” she said, suddenly absolutely convinced that what she was doing could wait. “We’re hopeful about the treatment he’s undergoing, but it’s… He’s very unwell.” Shelby nodded seriously but her demeanor was off and the fact that she’d obviously heard Katrina was in the building and come to see a superior officer she had no direct contact to, was telling.

“Would you… Please know Admiral, that our thoughts are with him and you.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Katrina said, at once warmed and unsurprised that his staff were fonder of Gabe than he would understand. “I’ll be sure he knows. Now, are you all ok? Are you managing?”

“We’re fine Ma’am, Admiral Reed is helping out when we need a more experienced set of hands.”

“Good, and be sure to look after yourself. Just because my husband is….” she stopped, choking on the words that came next.

“Everything is in order, we’re missing him but we’re not letting his standards slip.”

“He’ll be glad to hear it,” Katrina said, knowing it to be the truth, “now, go back and tell everyone it’s home time. No, it’s 18:00,” she continued holding her hands up, “and I’m sure that you’ve all been pulling extended hours for months. Now, go on, I’ve got places to be.” She watched the younger woman go for a moment and then called her aide back in, “Can you make sure that there’s a proper lunch for Admiral Lorca’s team tomorrow? Lots of vegetables and lots of chocolate.” 

By the time that she’d gotten back to medical and to Gabriel’s room, he was blinking owlishly up at Hugh who was trying to get him to listen.

“... She’ll be back in a while, but she’s not going to let you take it off either,” Hugh was saying.

“No,” she said, stepping in beside him, “she won’t.” It was hard to sound stern though when it was such a relief to see him awake and vaguely coherent.

“We pulled back on the pain meds just so we could do some neurological assessments and make sure nothing was untoward,” Hugh said quietly into her ear. “He passed but we’ll bounce them back up shortly.” She nodded, knowing that this was just an interlude. 

“Hey you,” she said, turning her attention fully onto her husband. There was a change in his eyes, and she felt herself smile in response. She reached out, cupping his face and gently stroking the skin next to the mask. “I know you’re still feeling awful, but you are doing much better Gabe,” she said, catching his hand as it crept closer to the straps. “Nope. Not a hope,” she said, and tried not to cave when his brow creased and his eyes welling with uncharacteristic tears. “Not long now,” she said, looking to Hugh to confirm how they were progressing.

“Only one more round for now,” he said. 

“See, just this last one,” she reassured him, perching in the edge of the bed and grasping his hands with one of hers as she gently stroked his back with the other. “Just breathe deeply,” she whispered, her hand sliding beneath his t-shirt to gently rub the skin of his lower back. “In and out,” she said calmly over and over until the mask began to clear.

“Off?” Gabe managed to say from beneath the mask, his best pleading expression in place. Katrina looked up at Hugh who gave her a smile and a nod, before she pulled the clasp loose. “‘Trina,” he said, reaching out. 

“Hello,” she said, lifting his head from the pillow and pulling the straps free. Gabriel was taking shakey, gasping breaths and she placed a palm on his chest, passing the mask over to Hugh, “easy. That’s it. Fumigation over for now,” she tried for levity but Gabe continued to gasp and then started to cough. 

“Gabriel,” Hugh’s professional tone kicked in, “Slowly. I need you to relax, you’re fine.” As the coughing deteriorated into retching, she and Hugh rolled him onto his side as he brought up mostly bile and flecks of blood. Hugh hit the call button and when the medic arrived, started calling for pain relief and sedation.

“Shh,” Katrina whispered into his ear, “shh you’re fine Gabe, it’s ok.” Not only was it unpleasant to watch, she was acutely aware of the stress that the vomiting would place on his pre-existing injuries and the weakened areas. Not long after the drugs were administered however, he calmed, falling back on his pillows.

“I want a fresh set of scans,” Hugh was saying to the technician, “let’s make sure there isn’t any slow bleeds.” Katrina watched as Gabriel’s breathing slowed and eased, his tense muscles relaxing back into sleep. “It’s mostly natural,” Hugh said as the others worked, “it was only enough to push him over the edge. His body is still exhausted and he’s just panicked.”

“He has,” she agreed, taking the sheet that would need to be changed anyway and wiped the strings of saliva away from his mouth.

“The signs are good,” Hugh continued. “Phlox is confident that we’re not just seeing dormancy but actual eradication. It is working and given that active damage has now stopped I think we can probably start the repair work early tomorrow morning.” 

“Hear that Gabe?” Katrina asked quietly, knowing full well that she wouldn’t get a reply. Burying her norse in his hair she kissed his temple and whispered, “almost there.”


	5. Chapter 5

Gabriel shifted carefully in the wicker seat where he was ensconced, turning his face to catch the last of the summer sun. The sound of their friends talking and music playing and the smell of the barbeque even, adding to the simple pleasure of the late summer warmth. Even the fact that he was letting it all happen around him, that he was wrapped up in several layers and a blanket despite the sun, was going to spoil this evening. Closing his eyes, he lifted the smouldering paper tube to his lips and sealing them breathed in, holding the smoke in his lungs as long as he could before blowing it out, away from the others. This continuing treatment while not exactly enjoyable, was far less unpleasant than the mask he’d suffered through the first few times. 

“Can I get you anything?” Katrina asked, coming to stand beside him, her hand running along his shoulders. “Paul tells me that Michael’s made punch, you could try a little of that?” Gabriel grimaced, while his treatment had gone well and three weeks later the newly regenerated lining of his digestive tract was holding up well, eating and drinking was still more challenging than Gabriel would have liked. 

“I think I’ll stick with tea, please,” he said.

“Sensible choice,” Hugh agreed, coming and taking one of the other chairs “that stuff is lethal.”

“That doesn’t seem to be stopping you,” Katrina pointed out.

“Tilly made me do it,” he said entirely deadpan.

“You are old enough to make your own poor choices,” Sylvia called from behind the grill. Gabriel raised the rolled up paper once again to his lips and a took a final draw, before putting out the smouldering nub.

“Well said Tilly,” Paul agreed from beside her.

“There is nothing wrong with my punch,” Michael replied, “Elizabeth likes it.” Shelby was blushing worthy of Tilly as the pair of them joined the circle. 

“Let’s see how you feel when you’ve finished your first glass,” Hugh said.

“Here you go,” Katrina said, coming and sitting down next to him on the double seat.

“Thank you,” he replied automatically, taking the mug and wrapping his hand around it.

“Ok?” she asked quietly as the chat continued to fire around the rest of the group. However frustrating, Gabriel understood why she felt the need to ask. It had been a hellish few months for both of them and he knew that showed. Even weeks after he’d started eating solid food his bones stuck still stuck out, he was permanently cold and needed to take an afternoon nap if he wanted to be awake after 19:00. But today they were celebrating the fact that he was home and had been deemed well enough that he could start basic re-conditioning work.

“I’m good thank you,” he said, leaning in to kiss her.

“Oh, you taste of Katarian weeds!” she protested, feigning fighting off his attentions much to everyone’s amusement.

“Food’s ready!” Tilly announced from the barbeque and there was a rush 

“Table service, Sir,” Shelby said with an awkward smile as she brought over a plate with some plain chicken, “can I get you anything else?”

“No thank you,” Gabriel said with a long suffering smile, “little and often are my watchwards still.”

He picked at his food as he watched the others, enjoying the familiar chatter and how his SIC had been adopted by the group.

“Done?” Katrina asked lightly some time later.

“Yes, thank you,” he said, appreciating the lack of comment on what he had or hadn’t managed to eat. His stomach was gurgling unhappily, not an uncommon reaction to even the most innocuous of foods these days. 

“Do you have everything you need?” Katrina asked, obviously recognising the signs. It was a familiar routine though, so Gabriel tended to keep the essentials nearby. 

“Yes, would you..?” he gestured to the scanner, knowing that she would feel better if she saw for herself that there was nothing sinister going on. It was getting better, it had been a few days since anything had sat as badly in his stomach as this currently was but it was taking time to retrain his gut about what it was it was supposed to do. 

“All clear,” she said. It wasn’t surprising, the parasites were all but eradicated and there hadn’t been any sign of anything else going wrong since he was released. Still though, they checked whenever this happened just to be safe. Katrina held up a bottle of the vial oral medication that sometimes helped settle his stomach and he nodded and took the glass she’d poured and sipped cautiously at it.

“I’m just going to…” he gestured back towards the flat, he was still hopeful that he wouldn’t actually be sick but even knowing that he knew he’d still feel better if he was nearer a bathroom.

Gabriel was sitting on a stool in the kitchen quietly confident that he was in fact going to succeed in not being sick, when Hugh appeared. 

“Swap?” he asked, holding out a glass of water. Looking down, Gabriel realised he was still clutching the empty glass that the medicine had been in. 

“Thanks,” he said, accepting the glass of water. “This seems strangely familiar.”

“Will you be honest this time if I ask you how you’re feeling?”

“Nauseous but not in danger of losing my dinner.”

“I like this new frankness,” Hugh said with a smile.

“Katrina and I have had to reach an agreement. We’re calling it the post-double-pneumonia agreement part 2.”

“How’s that working out?”

“I’m looking forward to going back to work,” he said honestly, “but she’s been spectacular.”

“You gave her a proper scare,” Hugh said quietly.

“Well it certainly wasn’t intentional and I…” he paused, turning the glass around in his fingers, “I didn’t particularly enjoy the experience either.”

“Being that unwell is always a bit harrowing, there’s no shame in that.”

“Says the man who was dead.”

“Yes, and went through hours of therapy to help process that hiccup. Don’t look so terrified…” he continued with a smile. “I’m not prescribing anything, I’m just a friend suggesting that this would be a perfectly reasonable time to want to talk to someone.”

“I’ll bear that in mind.” 

“Glad to see that the post-double-pneumonia agreement part 2 isn’t going to apply to everything and everyone.”

“I’d be a poor choice, as Head of Tactical if I couldn’t subvert the truth every now and then,” he replied with an aborted laugh, grimacing a little and laying a hand on his stomach.

“Alright?”

“Mmmm,” Gabriel agreed, “if I stopped doing anything every time I felt nauseous I would never achieve anything at the moment. Now, shall we rejoin the rest of them before they start to destroy my garden in an attempt to prove something theoretical.”

“Paul and Sylvia are almost worse now that don’t see each other every day,” Hugh agreed, “although I think he’s trying to get her to step out of the Command track for a few years.”

“Michael did it,” Gabriel acknowledged, “but given you haven’t reported back to my delightful wife, we had better get a move on.”

“In her defense, she wasn’t coming in, she just looked like she wanted to and I offered to put her out of her misery.”

“Come on then, take those bottles,” he instructed the other man, “If you’re all going to get drunk you might as well start with the good stuff.”

“Are you trying to get everyone drunk Gabe?” was Katrina’s first remark. 

“Just because I can’t join you doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy watching you all embarrass yourselves. Fair warning though, I don’t have the stomach to be able to clean up after you all.” 

“Shots!” Tilly declared, only for there to be general outcry in response. As Gabriel sat back down and let Katrina tuck him back in he realised that this was what it was all about. He might not be right yet and it would be some time before he was, but if they could make it this far then he was pretty sure that together, they could make it through anything.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading - I hope you enjoyed,  
> Lx
> 
> PS - thoughts always gratefully received


End file.
